Something bizarre was going on with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk during Donald Trump's inaugural festivities — and we're not just talking about that apparent Sieg Heil that earned him recriminations from across the world.

In videos posted on X-formerly-Twitter and Bluesky, Musk was seen from multiple angles rolling his neck hypnotically and twitching his eyes during Trump's swearing-in ceremony, which took place hours before his now-infamous hand motion in the midst of his own speech later in the evening. It's worth a quick watch; something just seems off, especially given Musk's activities later in the evening.

Though supporters of Musk and Trump were quick to claim the clip had been edited with AI, Futurism found archival BBC footage of the swearing-in ceremony — the online player is glitchy, but find the 17:52 mark in the broadcast to see it for yourself — showing that the peculiar mannerisms were entirely real.

In fact, that BBC footage shows the moment going on for much longer than the short clips that initially made their way onto social media suggested.

Naturally, Musk's fans had new excuses for the strange motion: that he has to stretch periodically due to a neck injury, was experiencing autistic light sensitivity, or was simply self-regulating his anxiety.

To be fair, any of these things could be true. And were it almost anyone else, we wouldn't bother pointing out such behavior.

But Musk's ascendant political profile as a close confidante of Trump means that he now holds incredible power over the regulation, operation and spending of the federal government. And as evidenced by his Nazi hand gesture later in the evening, there are profound questions about his character and judgment. If there's something neurological underlying his strange behavior, it's imperative that the American public know — an argument, it's worth remembering, that was deployed against Trump's predecessor Joe Biden to great effect.

It's also worth noting that Musk was seen struggling through sentences during an appearance the night before.

(Though it's important to be considerate of people who aren't neurotypical, Musk hasn't shown the same grace to others, showing a growing penchant for calling people "r*tards" during online disputes — yet another lapse in judgment that raises questions about his cognitive acuity.)

There's also the question of drug use. It's long been reported that Musk has a soft spot for illegal substances including ketamine, and as anyone who's been to a dance club late at night can attest, Musk's strange movements look a lot like those of people on higher doses of the drug: spaced out, wobbly, but ultimately in control of at least some degree of their bodily faculties.

Musk has admitted that he takes the drug, which is most commonly associated with its farm animal use, to help with his depression. During an interview last May with Don Lemon, he even suggested that "Special K" is aiding Tesla's success.

"From an investor standpoint," he told the former CNN anchor, "if there is something I’m taking, we should keep taking it."

The government has long disagreed, placing Musk's rumored and professed drug use alongside his chats with Russian president Vladimir Putin as one of the key reasons he couldn't be granted a higher security clearance.

Obviously, nobody can say with certainty what was going on with the multi-hyphenate billionaire during an inauguration that was broadcast on national television.

But given that Musk went on hours later to give what he insists was not a Nazi salute — not once but twice — in front of an audience of thousands of people and cameras, we're confident that scrutiny of Musk's behavior is only going to grow.

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